Carlos Tarife, the Councilor for Public Services of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, has urged the Ministry of Ecological Transition to expedite the expansion of the treatment plant and has invited Teresa Ribera to “personally inspect the progress.”
Tarife’s statements highlight the vital need to upgrade wastewater treatment to prevent sea pollution and facilitate agricultural use in the island’s northeast and south, initiatives led by the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
The local corporation informs that the Ministry awarded the expansion works of the Santa Cruz Treatment Plant in 2018 with a budget of 20.1 million euros.
The completion of these actions is projected for March 2025, increasing the treatment capacity to 55,000 cubic meters per day.
Highlighting the significance of the issue, Tarife emphasizes that it is “one of the most critical environmental challenges” for Santa Cruz and calls on the Cabildo of Tenerife to share the responsibility as the treatment plant serves three different municipalities: Rosario, Santa Cruz, and La Laguna.
Javier Davara, the manager of the Insular Water Council, affirms that after the completion of the actions, sea discharges will be eliminated or significantly reduced, and an additional 20,000 cubic meters of irrigation water per day will be available.
This increased capacity will benefit either the area from Santa Cruz to Valle San Lorenzo (Arona) or the northeast of the island, reaching the municipalities of Tegueste and La Laguna.
The Cabildo of Tenerife explains that the interventions have been divided into several phases, with the initial phase focusing on the adaptation of the Cabo Llanos Wastewater Pumping Station (EBAR), which will transfer water to the Santa Cruz Treatment Plant (WWTP).
Furthermore, work is in progress on Manuel Hermoso Avenue to lay pipes and enable water pumped from the EBAR to be treated in Buenos Aires, ensuring that water from Santa Cruz, La Laguna, and El Rosario reaches the purification system.
The island corporation emphasizes the necessity of a comprehensive wastewater sanitation, purification, regeneration, and reuse system, emphasizing that such a system is uncommon.
